The Drunk Elephant Difference

Drunk Elephant is clean, but in our opinion, “clean” is not enough when it comes to caring for skin. We make “Clean Compatible” skincare. Drunk Elephant is committed to using only ingredients that either directly benefit the skin’s health or support the integrity and effectiveness of our formulations. We never take into account an ingredient’s synthetic or natural status, but instead choose based on biocompatibility. You won’t find what we call the “Suspicious 6” in our products (Essential Oils, Drying Alcohols, Silicones, Chemical Sunscreens, Fragrances/Dyes, SLS) making them, in our opinion, appropriate for all skin. We believe that these six ubiquitous ingredients are at the root of almost every skin issue we see and when entirely removed from one’s routine (“a clean break”), skin can reset and return to a healthy, balanced state. It is equally, if not more, important what we leave out of the products as what we put in. This skin-elimination diet (think Whole30 for your face) inspired the #barewithus🐘 Instagram movement, a collection of bare-faced selfies chronicling the Drunk Elephant journeys of people who have found success using the line and renewed confidence in their own skin. When formulating the products, we focus on biocompatibility, pH levels and safety, always making sure that the active ingredients are at efficacious levels and remain respectful and always supportive of skin’s acid mantle.

How We're Different

Our Ethos

We decided early on that we would exclude any “question mark” ingredients.

We avoided the obvious “toxins” and controversial synthetics, along with any other ingredients seemingly linked to internal health disruption. We are not alone here, many “clean” brands are doing this. Our reasoning: If consumer perception is negative about a certain ingredient, right or wrong, we simply find a great alternative to put minds at ease, so that’s what we did.

We then took it a step further and eliminated the 6 ingredients we suspect carry a potential risk to the health and function of the skin organ itself, which are called the “Suspicious 6”.

Where your health is concerned, we will always subscribe to "If there's any DOUBT, it's OUT.”

Made in USA

We don’t take shortcuts or compromise ingredients to save money. We are hands-on and will stay true to our ethos. Our products are designed, tested and made in the United States.

Our Own CategoryClean Compatible

Clean

We use only biocompatible ingredients that skin can recognize, accept and process. First, we try to avoid controversial “toxins” that are thought to negatively impact and disrupt our internal health. Second, and at the heart of our philosophy, we avoid the 6 ingredients we suspect are disruptive to the health of the skin organ itself and are at the root of almost every skin issue we see. The “Suspicious 6” includes silicones, essential oils, chemical screens, SLS, drying alcohols, and fragrance/dyes. We don't care at all about smelling pretty or changing the look or feel of our ingredients, we just let them be what they are naturally.

Compatible

Never compromising on safety, we synergistically blend the highest percentages of actives at ideal pH levels with non-sensitizing ingredients for clinically effective results. We also formulate using biocompatible ingredients. These are non-irritating, small-molecule ingredients that skin can easily absorb, understand and use.

All biocompatible ingredients are clean, but not all clean ingredients are biocompatible.

Natural vs. Synthetic

Drunk Elephant’s mission is to deliver clinically-effective, biocompatible skincare formulated with
both cutting-edge synthetic and natural ingredients; and without the ubiquitous “toxins”, sensitizers
and irritants, such as the disruptive essential oils, that block the pathway to healthy skin. We pay
close attention to pH levels and safety, as well as formulating with efficacious percentages of active
ingredients. Our goal is to teach the consumer that “natural” doesn’t automatically mean good and
that every ingredient should directly and only benefit the health of our skin or the safety of the
formulation. We shift the focus off of the consumer’s “sensitive” skin and on to the insensitive
marketing ingredients that are responsible for the majority of our skin problems, in our opinion and
experience.

Unfortunately, today’s regulations allow companies in both categories to use harmful, disruptive
ingredients. And while Drunk Elephant aims for its products to be as natural as possible, it is far
more important that the ingredients in them be effective and safe. Plenty of
natural ingredients are harmful to the health of the skin, so we consistently formulate our products
with soothing, low-hazard ingredients — regardless of their natural or synthetic status.

Our product development team obsessively self-regulates and reviews every single precious
ingredient to make sure it is the safest, most efficacious and most synergistic with the entire product
line, while staying focused on both internal and external health. That leaves Drunk Elephant in a
category of its own.

Less is More

Paring down your routine to a collection of carefully-formulated products is our plan for a bare-faced,
radiant you. Our goal is to improve whatever it is you’ve felt you needed to hide and allow your skin
to function as it should again.

We want to reset your skin back to its healthiest, best state. When you use Drunk Elephant, your
skin glows in response.

Break the Cycle

We believe that you leave your skin vulnerable through the overuse of harsh exfoliates, chemical
peels at pH levels under 3.0, expensive laser treatments, Botox abuse, layered foundations and
powders, and irritant-laden beauty products. There’s nothing wrong with an occasional, beneficial
beauty splurge here and there (when appropriate), but it can be a vicious cycle that is hard to stop.

Our formulations are balanced and optimized to work with the physiological processes of the skin to
make those types of indulgences less necessary, less often. With the help of Drunk Elephant, you
will finally be able to give your skin a clean break™.

No Fragrance

Drunk Elephant products are fragrance-free and do not smell like anything other than what they are.

Other skincare lines use “natural alternatives” to scent their products. Things like essential oil
blends, citrus peel extracts, and limonene may sound pretty and innocent, but they are known to
cause allergic sensitivities that are cumulative and imperceptible. The irony here is that they are
often found in products marketed towards those with sensitive skin.

After carefully balancing the best ingredients available, we don’t have to add anything to mask their
natural scents. When you smell our products, you will likely detect nothing but a glycerin base with
slight hints of Marula oil, Zinc Oxide, Thermal Mud, Fruit Enzymes, antioxidants and Vitamins. It’s
refreshing and reassuring.

Hooray! You’re on the list!

We will send you an email as soon as the Shelf Respect™ Day Kit is here!

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